Promote Reform and Yourself Without Censorship…

Recently the idea of immigration reform has been a hot topic and serious problem within the United States. On both sides of the political spectrum, individuals and groups are emotional, angry, and energetic regarding immigration reform even if they view how to solve it from completely different angles.

Teachers can do the same thing in regards to education reformation. Of course, we must be emotional, angry, energetic regarding the topic, but unlike many undocumented, i.e. “illegal” immigrants, we as teachers must come out of the shadows with who we really are as educators. The best way, I believe for educators to truly enhance education reform is to promote reform (the ideas, philosophies, critical analysis, ect.) but just as important, promote who we are as educators. Promote what we believe in, what we truly believe teaching is and how the system should work for the betterment of its students and society.

Reformation will only happen when each individual takes the courage and stance to exist as an educator in the way they truly believe in. If you are a staunch believer in the traditional banking system of learning, where we stand at the front of the class and lecture and take lesson plans straight from the textbook, then fine, fight for this type of reform. If you are a staunch believer in democratic education, authentic learning, progressive ideas, critical pedagogy, social justice education, and value of each individual, then stand up exactly for that. Regardless of your political affiliation or educational philosophy, stand up for whatever it is. If society continues to believe that we are enacting exactly how we believe, then educational reform will continue to be at a standstill.

While we continue to distract ourselves with which ideas are best or which resources are needed in order to teach, we forget the context, the “bigger picture” if you will. Reflection on oneself regarding their true belief and stance as an educator is a far more impactful recognition then a revelation of a new, insightful planning unit.

Once we have found our true voice, we must then make it heard. We must protest, strike, collaborate, investigate and discuss, we must write new articles, new blogs, new books in order to get others invested and exposed to the truth and character of the teacher behind the system. It is far easier to follow the crowd, then to be the leader of the revolution. We must make educational reformation an emergency for this nation, for the world. We must show society that the children we love, the future of the planet is at stake, and as long as we continue to live blindly following a system, or creed of education, that destroys the innovation, creation and imagination of learners, we will continue to deteriorate.

For motivation and courage for us to recognize the reformation and for who we truly are…I will end with this Robert Frost Famous Poetry Quote…

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About caseykcaronna

A 27 year old Master of Arts in Education Degree holder from the progressive, liberal arts school, Goddard College. I am interested in Holistic, Community, Progressive, Democratic and Student-Centered Education.
I am currently a part-time employee with the Boy Scouts of America. I am writing my first book on holistic education and looking for full time employment in education, throughout the United States and Canada.
I am interested in all things education and hope to make trans-formative changes to the educational system(s) in America and in the process help to improve the lives of the individuals in whom it serves.

Discussion

6 thoughts on “Promote Reform and Yourself Without Censorship…”

Thank you Casey! My post on Friday(Which just need a few revisions) has some of the same ideas and themes….hopefully it is different enough to further the conversation. I love it when minds think alike… i sure they have said something about that…. :)

while you talk somewhat about your ideals etc…in your post….have you actually put your own “dewey creed” so to speak to paper?

also how do you see us moving from an online circle to a wider audience? Do we need to start submitting to the local “letters to editors” every week?

What local issues are troubling you?
I wonder maybe we can all hit up a local school board or city council meeting….

Casey, your post makes me wonder if we need to take a step backwards and have a culture revolution before an assessment revolution or a pedagogical one. I worry about toxic school cultures, their effects on students, and the obstacles they present to administrators and teachers interested in change.

I think of Aaron’s us vs. them. I think of R&D schools, regardless of their labels. I think of letting edupreneurs run, but worry about putting them in empty stadiums. I worry about getting bogged down in the either/or.

Where do we put the fulcrum on the lever of change?

How do we get administrators to go all in for cultures that either make it safe for everyone to speak up without undue consequence or publicly back change agents?

How do we get administrators to stop trying to keep the peace? Are Michelle Rhee, Joel Kelin, and Michael Bloomberg the models of action, if not of philosophy? Of philosophy, as well?

How do you get to a democratic school or school system without “them?” Without “edsclusivity?” That’s a question for Aaron, too.

We do have “illegal immigrants” in education. In fact, the profession is flooded with them. Anyone who is in the profession that doesn’t emphasize innovative instructional practices, development of ideas, and putting kids first is an “illegal immigrant” as far as I am concerned, and I want them shipped out….today.

My comment to you is about to address Chad’s question above as well.

I’m ok with people like Rhee, Klein, and Bloomberg simply because they paint the face of what happens when education is removed from the hands of the educators. They provide a glimpse of what happens if education isn’t reform isn’t placed in the hands of quality educators in constant contact with children. D.C. and New York provide case studies of why we need expedient reform from the inside of the classroom out. Otherwise, asshole media hogs, like Michelle Rhee, come in and swear they can fix every problem with some “silver bullet” of garbage ideas without really understanding what the kids need. They close whole schools, ridicule teachers, make promises that won’t come true, and emphasize an environment of stress and rote memorization rather than authentic learning. Now, who wants to let their school district enter that realm?

The students have performed better on standardized tests? Great, but does that signify true learning? I prefer to judge accountability by a different set of questions:

How have attendance rates of individual students improved during their tenure?
What are the students that graduate doing after high school?
If they go to college, do they graduate?
If they are working, are they happy?

That’s where your ideas come into play. The ONLY way to improve student learning is to improve the individual at the front of the room. Not technology, not textbooks, not cookie cutter programs will improve student learning. We need to weed a lot of people out.

So keep being loud, provocative, and direct with your views on how to change education. You’d be surprised at how much we are all screaming the same thing at the top of our lungs even if it isn’t evident at first.